As part of Turkish Cuisine Week (21-27 May), the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts of the Faculty of Tourism at Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) organised the “Turkish Cuisine Week Cooking Competition with Awards” to promote the riches of Turkish cuisine and give students of gastronomy an opportunity to showcase their talents.
The competition was held at the HKU Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department Education and Practice Kitchen. The jury consisted of HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Lütfi Yola, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Tourism Prof. Dr. Tuba Büyükbeşe, Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Assoc. Prof. Dr. Furkan Baltacı, HKU Secretary General Ümit Şahnaoğlu, Acting Gaziantep Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Selçuk Korkmaz, Novotel Gaziantep General Manager Özgür Çözgener, Divan Hotel Gaziantep General Manager Mühlüm Şen, Chef Osman Kaplan and Chef Mutlu Durgun.
Stating that such activities promoting Turkish cuisine should be supported, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli said: “Our university attaches great importance to hands-on experience and industry collaboration in its education processes. This competition, organised as part of Turkish Cuisine Week, enables our students to showcase their talents and develop their professional skills. The high standard and professionalism shown in the competition demonstrate the competence of our students, who will achieve great success in gastronomy in the future. We were extremely pleased to see our students reflect the rich heritage of Turkish cuisine while demonstrating innovative approaches.”
In the competition, ‘Mutancana’, one of the important dishes of Ottoman palace cuisine, was presented to the jury members by each group with its own interpretation, while remaining faithful to the original recipe. Following the evaluations, medals were awarded to the top three groups. All participants were given the book ‘Gaziantep Yemekleri’ (Gaziantep Dishes) as a gift.
